Habitat for Humanity of East King County hosts a charity golf tournament July 30 at The Plateau Club, 25625 E. Plateau Drive, Sammamish.

The best-ball tournament has a shotgun start at 11 a.m. and includes lunch, drinks, contests, prizes, cocktail hour and a light dinner afterward.

This is the second year Habitat supporters Donovan Douvia and Jim Na have co-chaired the tournament.

“We felt we could plan a fun, impactful event that could make a difference in families’ lives,” Douvia said. “One of the best things about Habitat is being able to see the significance of fundraising efforts and how much they can impact a family.”

Tickets for the tournament are $150 per individual and $600 per group of four. Proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity of East King County’s mission to provide affordable housing to hard working, low-income families in the community.

SCoRE outlines major recovery initiatives under way around the state to restore salmon habitat, restructure hatchery operations and redesign fisheries to conserve wild salmon runs.

“Our goal was to make this information as easy to access as possible,” Sara LaBorde, a special assistant to the agency director, said in a statement. “With SCoRE, people can switch from an overview of statewide habitat-restoration efforts to spawning data for a specific salmon run with a few mouse clicks.”

The website breaks down increases and decreases in salmon and steelhead populations, activities at specific hatcheries, information about wild salmon and steelhead runs, and opportunities for the public to participate in salmon recovery efforts.

“Our state made a major commitment to salmon recovery, and people have a right to know how that’s going,” LaBorde said.

Vote yes for juvenile justice center

At first glance, the Aug. 7 ballot request to build a new King County juvenile justice center might seem overly expensive at $200 million. While it is pricey, the proposed levy represents a good deal for King County taxpayers.

The juvenile justice center is where we hope few Issaquah families ever have to go. The center houses courtrooms where minors are tried, and a jail for underage offenders.

Calling current conditions poor is an understatement. The existing building is cramped. Designed decades ago, the courts and conference rooms are small and don’t meet today’s needs.

King County joined a regional burn ban July 17, after the county fire marshal joined a similar moratorium in Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties.

The ban came as forecasts call for continued dry conditions and the summer fire risk increases. The ban is in place until Sept. 1.

The moratorium applies to all outdoor burning except for small recreational fires in established fire pits at approved campgrounds or on private property with the owner’s permission.

Under the ban, fires must be built in a metal or concrete fire pit, and not be used as debris disposal. Fires must not grow larger than 3 feet in diameter.

Fires must be located in a clear spot free from any vegetation for at least 10 feet in a horizontal direction, including at least 25 feet from any structure. Fires should have a 20-foot vertical clearance from overhanging branches.

Fires must be attended at all times, and equipment capable of extinguishing the fire should be nearby as the fire burns.

King County leaders recognized the Automated Fingerprint Identification System on July 16 for achieving international accreditation.

The system provides criminal fingerprint identification services to law enforcement agencies throughout the county, including the Issaquah Police Department. The regional Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or AFIS, received the accreditation for the Latent Print Unit.

The unit responds to major crime scenes and processes evidence in a lab by using chemicals, photography and other means to find fingerprints left at crime scenes. Investigators then enter the prints into the regional database to search for matches.

The council recognized AFIS for earning accreditation from Forensic Quality Services, a Florida-based provider of accreditation to forensic testing agencies.

The assessment praised the AFIS staff’s commitment to high-quality management of procedures, training, competence and dedication. The program is the second facility in the state to receive forensic laboratory accreditation, after the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab.

The recognition came as the council considers a property tax levy to fund AFIS through 2018. Voters approved the initial AFIS levy in 1986, and overwhelmingly renewed the levy since then, most recently in 2006. The current levy expires in December.

After-school homework programs got a big boost July 11 when the Issaquah School Board approved a $42,500 gift from the Issaquah Schools Foundation.

The money has been earmarked to support three programs, including $7,500 for Middle School After School Homework; $12,500 for High School After School Homework; and $22,500 for the mentor program Volunteers of Issaquah Changing Education, more commonly known as VOICE.

On the middle school level, the after school program allows for school libraries to stay open in the afternoon so students can access computers, the Internet and get help with homework. On the high school level, different days of the weeks are reserved for extra help for different subjects like math and foreign languages. The mentor program serves about 300 students from across the district who could use one-on-one assistance.

“It’s an extraordinary program,” foundation Executive Director Robin Callahan said. “I know that the district has really come to rely on the VOICE mentor program as one of their strategies.”

The mentors are all volunteers while the district and the schools foundation partner together to pay for program directors and school coordinators. The latest injection of $22,500 covers about half of the total cost of the program.

“There is nothing that the foundation does alone,” Callahan said. “It involves collaboration with the district, collaboration with volunteers and collaboration with donors. We are a conduit by which members of the community can donate resources and time to have an extraordinary effect on student learning and students’ ability to achieve their full potential.”

After that, the exhibition — which showcases children’s ideas about what classrooms will look like 50 years from now — will be open noon to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays at the playhouse. Both are free and open to the public, but because of limited space, organizers suggest reserving a ticket for the launch.

The concert is free for audience members, due to support from longtime Issaquah developer Rowley Properties. POPS! Goes Issaquah is meant to support arts on the Eastside and open the arts to a broader audience, including families unable to otherwise afford to participate in the arts.